In wake of national incidents, WT police remind employees to be mindful of safety

JACOB MAYER

Saturday

Sep 29, 2012 at 8:22 PM

After recent bomb threats on college campuses from Fargo, N.D., to Austin, West Texas A&M University police have placed a renewed emphasis on ensuring employees are prepared.

Campus police issued an email to all faculty and staff recently about what to do if they see anything suspicious, and a checklist that would help police in responding to an incident and the following investigation, said Lt. Patrick Coggins, director of police operations at the university.

"We're just drawing people's attention to the events that have been occurring nationwide so as to ensure that everybody's aware of what's going on and ensure you have a checklist attached," Coggins said.

Bomb threats within the last month have triggered evacuations on at least five university campuses throughout the country, including North Dakota State University, the University of Texas and Louisiana State University.

Coggins said WT has emergency plans in place in case of a bomb threat, but how police respond depends on whether they receive a specific or vague threat.

"I don't want to get a whole lot more specific other than to say police response would be based in great measure on what the threat is," he said.

Amarillo College also has emergency procedures in case of a bomb threat. Those include evacuation plans and notifying students and staff, college interim chief of police Lt. Steve Chance said.

"The person who would receive the threat has a list of information that they need to try to find out," he said. "Then they notify the campus police and we go from there."

Chance said all policies are outlined in an emergency preparedness manual online and an annual security report on AC's website.

He said the college had a bomb threat on campus about six years ago. The college followed its procedures and did not find a bomb, he said.

Chance and Coggins said they haven't made any changes to their plans or policies in direct response to the recent bomb threats at other campuses, but the departments review their policies each year.

Along with having proper policies in place, training is one of the most effective ways colleges and universities can prepare, said Robin Gray, executive editor of Campus Safety Magazine based in Torrance, Calif.

"There is a certain amount of training that needs to be done because you want it done safely," she said. "You don't want people being put in harm's way."

Gray said bomb scares are hard to prepare for because there are so many different reasons why someone would make a threat.

"There's just a ton of different variables, the time of the day, the time of the year," Gray said. "Is it right before finals, and does someone want to get out of finals? Has it taken place when there have been multiple bomb threats that have been publicized around the country and is this a copycat?"

Overall, Gray said she hasn't seen many recent changes to bomb threat precautions on college campuses across the country.

Aside from bomb threats, other campus safety concerns include the presence of guns, Gray said.

She said allowing weapons on campus would be a bad idea because it would be more difficult for police to identify an active shooter if multiple people have guns.

"How are the police able to identify who is the good guy and who is the bad guy?" Gray said.

She also said it would be unsafe for the same students who binge drink or abuse drugs to be able to carry firearms on campus.

Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, disagreed. He said people are less likely to go on a shooting spree if they know others in the area also have guns.

He also said there is a double standard when it is legal for people to receive a concealed handgun license but then limit where they can carry that gun.

"Apparently, what they're assuming is I might be sane and rational in my apartment across the street from the legal limits of the campus, but once I cross the street I'm more likely to go nuts," Pratt said.

Guns are currently not allowed on Texas college campuses, and police would have to change their training if the state Legislature passed a law allowing firearms, Coggins said.

In any situation, Coggins said, people should be aware of their surroundings at all times.

"Rely on that sixth sense, that gut instinct," Coggins said. "If something doesn't seem right, if something doesn't appear right and you've checked it out to your discretion, don't hesitate to contact us."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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